Newser Story Index from November, 2009
Welcome to the Newser Story Index. Here you find stories written by Newser writers and editors, assembled with supporting photos and videos from the files of the news story.
Women Hate on Their Bodies 36 Times a Day
Daily Mail (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 1:59 PM CST
(Newser) -
Women are pretty good at feeling bad: They have negative thoughts about their appearance an average of 36 times a day, a survey shows. One hundred women, aged from 35 to 70, were asked to carry a clicker and register every time they felt anxious about any aspect of their face or body. The bad feelings flowed an average of 252 times a week, reports...
Steelers Fan Kills Misbehaving Pup
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Nov 23, 2009 1:52 PM CST
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A Pittsburgh-area pit bull puppy was misbehaving before a Steelers game, police say, so 22-year-old William Woodson, his girlfriend, and her dog went out for a walk—except that instead of walking, witnesses say Woodson kicked the dog down the street. Once it was incapacitated and almost dead, he left. “He admitted the dog would not behave...
The Meaning of Caster Semenya
New Yorker
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Nov 23, 2009 1:43 PM CST
(Newser) -
South Africa has rallied around Caster Semenya, but the IAAF still has no idea what to do with her—or the question of gender as a whole. Semenya’s case is particularly personal for South Africans. The country has an unusually high number of intersexed individuals, and apartheid left behind dark memories of people being reclassified against...
Zip It on Communion Ban: Bishop to Kennedy
Irish Central
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Nov 23, 2009 1:21 PM CST
(Newser) -
The bishop who had the nerve to tell a Kennedy not to take communion—because he supports abortion rights—is steamed that he blabbed about it. “I am disappointed that the congressman would make public my pastoral and confidential request,” says Bishop Thomas Tobin of Patrick Kennedy. He also says the “request” is...
Boyle's I Dreamed Great for Fans, But...
CNN
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Nov 23, 2009 1:04 PM CST
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Critics agree that for what it is, Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream ain't half bad. Fans will love it, and the rest of the world may respond with the same odd mixture of feelings that accompanied her television debut. Some takes: "Boyle's record is no joke," Linnie Rawlinson writes for CNN , and the singer is "deadly serious."...
Hate Crimes Up Just 2%, But Gay-Bashing Soars: FBI
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 12:38 PM CST
(Newser) -
The incidence of reported hate crimes in the US rose 2% in 2008, with huge surges in religion- and sexual orientation-based offenses. The FBI compiled the stats but cautions that an increase in reporting—not in crime itself—could be responsible. The AP looks at some numbers: Of 7,783 reported hate crimes in 2008, 7 were murders. ...
Why Everyone Hates Mommies
Salon
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Nov 23, 2009 12:17 PM CST
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“Helicopter moms,” “sanctimommies,” “stroller Nazis,” “breeders”—moms are getting a bad rap these days, but why? Yes, some aspects of mommy culture are ripe for mocking—the obsession with pregnant celebrities, the sham of Baby Einstein, the mothers who park “SUV-size” strollers...
At One Clinic, Two Standards of Care
MSNBC
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Nov 23, 2009 12:12 PM CST
(Newser) -
At one New York City radiology clinic you get what you pay for—there are different names, different doors, and very different experiences for those paying with insurance and those shelling out their own cash. MSNBC found that on the insurance side, appointments can take 15 days to schedule, the wait in the office is long, the service impersonal,...
Once-Profitable Services Are Killing Local Budgets
USA Today
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Nov 23, 2009 11:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
Municipally owned businesses like utilities, public transportation, and betting parlors used to bring in much-needed cash flow, but the recession has done its predictable work. State and local governments nationwide will likely hemorrhage $3.5 billion this year running these concerns which brought in upwards of $120 billion during the '90s. “With...
Man Reels in 157-lb Bluefin —in His Kayak
New York Times
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Nov 23, 2009 11:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
Futures trader Dave Lamoureux set a record this month for catching a 157-pound bluefin tuna. Alone. In his kayak. It's the third bluefin he's caught since July off the Massachusetts coast, as one of a growing coterie of kayakers fishing for the behemoths. Using secret tactics, the New York Times reports, Lamoureux hooks the fish—the rod is...
Rejoice! Jon & Kate Ends Tonight
New York Post
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Nov 23, 2009 10:57 AM CST
(Newser) -
Our long national nightmare is over: Jon and Kate Plus 8 airs its last episode tonight, although that’s no guarantee the tabloid-magnet Gosselins are going away. The series is set to end with more of a whimper than a bang—the kids visit a dairy farm and firehouse, reports the New York Post —but, TMZ adds, far be it from Jon...
Celebs' Craziest Theme Parties
The Frisky
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Nov 23, 2009 10:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
Miley Cyrus isn’t the only celebrity who can use a theme party (specifically '80s, for her 17th birthday) to dress like a hooker (in her case, Julia Roberts’ character from Pretty Woman —a film which, by the way, was released in 1990). Olivia Allin runs down some other notable themed bashes on The Frisky : Jessica Simpson: ...
US, Afghans Recruit Taliban With Jobs
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 23, 2009 10:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
Afghanistan has launched an initiative to convert Taliban foot soldiers with the promise of jobs and protection. Backed by the US military, the plan is modeled on its “Sons of Iraq” program; Stanley McChrystal even lured a key architect of that program out of retirement to help with it. The key, officials say, is to acknowledge and assuage...
The Spray-Tanned World of Reality TV
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 23, 2009 10:46 AM CST
(Newser) -
Ever wonder how every contestant on Dancing With the Stars looks so toned? It’s not all due to the workouts: Spray tanning experts are on call for DWTS and other reality shows, and they don’t just make contestants look darker—they add enhancements from six-pack abs to toned arms. “You go in feeling fat and frumpy, and you...
Strapped Prison to Inmates: There's No Free Lunch
Indianapolis Star
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Nov 23, 2009 10:36 AM CST
(Newser) -
Indiana criminals can no longer count on getting three square meals a day in prison; one cash-strapped lockup has cut lunches on weekends. Prisoners at Plainfield Correctional Facility now get two meals a day on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays: a “brunch” at 6am, and dinner at 4pm. The program could soon go statewide; Georgia has already...
Capt. Sully's Top Reward: 'Hero Sex'
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 10:30 AM CST
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What did expertly landing a plane on the Hudson River get “hero pilot” Chesley Sullenberger? “Hero sex,” says his wife. Lorrie Sullenberger tells Matt Lauer for Thursday’s People of the Year TV special that “the hero sex really helps a 20-year-old marriage,” the AP reports. “Rock star sex,”...
Contributors Flee Wikipedia's Stricter Rules
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 23, 2009 10:18 AM CST
(Newser) -
In an attempt to rein in the lawlessness and veiled opinion running rampant among its volunteer editors, Wikipedia may have shot itself in the foot. In the first 3 months of this year, there's been something of a stampede of contributors exiting the crowdsourced online encyclopedia, leading to a net loss of 49,000, analysis shows, compared to just...
Backing Afghan Militias Makes NATO Allies Queasy
Guardian (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 9:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
The US hasn’t given its Western allies the details of its plan to recruit and fund tribal militias to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, fearing, correctly, that they won’t like it, the Guardian reports. The strategy is already under way in 14 areas, with a budget of some $1.3 billion to reward militias for stabilizing their areas with...
Why Robert Pattinson Smells Awful
New York
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Nov 23, 2009 9:34 AM CST
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Robert Pattinson has a reputation as more than just every tween’s heartthrob: He apparently stinks, and New York finally found out why. “If he doesn’t change his clothes and the paparazzi get pictures of him in the same outfit all the time, then they can’t sell the pictures,” the Twilight star’s onscreen dad...
Pirates Holding 12-Year-Old Girl for Ransom
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 9:29 AM CST
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A just-released pirate hostage says the Somalian scallywags are holding a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl captive aboard the British ship Ariana. Captain Ricardo Blach, whose ship, the Alakrana, was released last week after six weeks of captivity, says the pirates at one point brought him aboard the Ariana, where he met the girl, along with her mother and...
The Vibrator Play: The Doctor Will Please You Now
NPR
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Nov 23, 2009 9:25 AM CST
(Newser) -
In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play ? Why, yes, it is about exactly that—but playwright Sarah Ruhl says that “a lot of it happens under a sheet,” making the comedy “very discreet.” The play, about a 19th-century doctor who treats female patients using a newfangled electrical device and the wife who wonders what all...
Adam Lambert Gets Down and Dirty at AMAs
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 9:08 AM CST
(Newser) -
Adam Lambert’s crotch-grabbing, oral-sex-miming, bondage-themed performance on last night’s American Music Awards has everyone talking—even him. Right afterward, he said the idea of ABC censoring it, which it did before airing it on the West Coast, is tantamount to “discrimination.” The American Idol runner-up tells...
Congress' New Whipping Boy: The Fed
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 8:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
When Fed Chair Ben Bernanke goes before Congress next month seeking a second term, he'll run straight into cantankerous legislators riding a tide of populist rage over the Wall Street bailout and high unemployment. While the Fed acted decisively to bail out the financial markets last year, it's widely viewed as having ignored the broader economy—and...
'Draco' Defends Daniel Radcliffe Over Pot Pic
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 8:19 AM CST
(Newser) -
Tom Felton may play Daniel Radcliffe’s arch-enemy in the Harry Potter films, but in real life he’s jumping to Radcliffe’s defense in Marijuanagate. “Harry” made headlines earlier this month when a British tabloid ran a photo of him allegedly toking up (jazzed up by a supposedly overheard quote, “I love weed”),...
Filipino Gunmen Kidnap, Kill 21 Filing Election Papers
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 8:03 AM CST
(AP) -
Philippine troops found 21 bodies in the country's restive south today, after dozens of gunmen hijacked a convoy of politicians and supporters filing their nominations for next year's elections, officials said. The victims, 13 women and eight men, were found in southern Ampatuan township, three miles from where they were taken hostage as they traveled...
Orly Taitz Helper Has Scotland Yard Training
Guardian (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 8:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
Orly Taitz isn’t the only influential foreign-born “birther” trying to prove that Barack Obama is himself foreign-born. Meet Neil Sankey, a former British detective and naturalized American citizen who is using his Scotland Yard skills to look for dirt on the president's origins. Taitz, for one, says he's been a huge help to the movement....
NFL Adds Concussion Rules
FOXSports
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Nov 23, 2009 7:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
Facing heat from both players and Congress, the NFL is adopting new policies designed to protect players in the event of a concussion. Teams will soon be required to keep an impartial, independent neurologist on hand to treat players for concussions. Players won’t be allowed to return to the field until they’ve been cleared by both the...
Jim DeMint Becomes Hill's Top Tea Partier
Politico
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Nov 23, 2009 7:47 AM CST
(Newser) -
Jim DeMint has thrown his lot in with the hyper-conservative tea party movement, backing far-right candidates against party favorites in several key 2010 races. In the process, the South Carolina senator’s picked up a pile of enemies in the party leadership, but he’s also grown his influence. Even moderate Republicans are now looking for...
Pain-Relieving Morphine May Spread Cancer
BBC
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Nov 23, 2009 7:44 AM CST
(Newser) -
Morphine, a painkiller often prescribed to ease cancer patients' suffering, may in fact encourage the spread of the disease. A new study suggests that the opiate strengthens blood vessels that deliver oxygen and nutrients to tumors, as well as makes it easier for cancers to invade new tissues and spread, the BBC reports. But the study authors are...
Debt-Happy US Faces Payback Time as Rates Rise
New York Times
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Nov 23, 2009 7:29 AM CST
(Newser) -
Like a homeowner heading for mortgage default as interest rates rise, the US is heading for a nasty shock as cheap national debt suddenly becomes much more expensive. The White House estimates that the cost of servicing our $12 trillion debt will be more than $700 billion a year by 2019, up from $202 billion this year. That difference, the New York...
Depressed Woman Parties on Facebook, Sick Leave Yanked
CBC (Canada)
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Nov 23, 2009 5:33 AM CST
(Newser) -
After a year and a half on sick leave for depression, a Canadian woman lost her benefits—because of her Facebook page. Nathalie Blanchard says the insurance company that cut off her payments cited Facebook photos that show her partying at a Chippendales show, enjoying her birthday, and frolicking on the beach, CBC reports. Blanchard claims...
Suicide Rate Rising
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 23, 2009 4:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
The suicides this year of a Freddie Mac boss overwhelmed by investigations into his company and a banker whose firm lost $1.5 billion in the Madoff scandal offer two high-profile examples of a trend confirmed by recent data: the US suicide rate is rising in the wake of the recession, with financial woes an increasing factor in many deaths, the Wall...
Taylor Swift, Jacko Rule; Clumsy JLo Steals Show
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 4:44 AM CST
(Newser) -
Taylor Swift unexpectedly captured artist of the year honors at tonight's American Music Awards, preventing a sweep by Michael Jackson. The 19-year-old country-pop crossover sensation called being included in the same category as the King of Pop an "unimaginable honor." She won five awards; Jermaine Jackson accepted two of his brother's four...
4 US Troops Killed in Afghan Attacks
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 3:59 AM CST
(Newser) -
Four US troops have been killed in southern and eastern Afghanistan in the last 24 hours. Three were killed by bombs yesterday and today, while a fourth was killed in a firefight. The casualties bring the death toll for the month to 15. October, when 58 US fighters were killed, was the deadliest month for US troops since the war began eight years ago....
Bing, News Corp Talks Offer Hope for Media
Financial Times (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 3:39 AM CST
(Newser) -
Microsoft is offering News Corp and other media companies money to yank their content from Google’s search engine and list it instead on Bing. The offer, likely prompted by a threat from Rupert Murdoch to remove content from Google, “is all about Microsoft hurting Google’s margins,” said one publisher. But it's also good news...
Brits in Iraq: US Military Bosses Were 'Like Martians'
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 3:35 AM CST
(Newser) -
British military officers serving in Iraq in the early days found their American counterparts so uncommunicative they called them “a group of Martians” for whom “dialogue is alien." In documents leaked to the Daily Telegraph , the top British general says he didn't even have a secure line to Gen. Rick Sanchez, the US commander,...
Coma Man Was Conscious for 23 Years
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 3:30 AM CST
(Newser) -
A man believed to be in a coma for 23 years following a car accident was actually conscious but completely paralyzed. "I dreamed myself away," said Belgian Rom Houben, now 49. A doctor finally made the correct diagnosis and discovered Houben's brain was completely normal and functioning. With therapy, Houben is now able to communicate tapping...
Team Discovers Mini-Monsters of the Deep
Independent (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 3:12 AM CST
(Newser) -
A team of scientists have discovered thousands of incredibly bizarre new creatures living in the blackness of the deep Atlantic ocean. They range from "Jumbo Dumbo," an octopod that swims by flapping a pair of ear-like fins, to shining golden crustaceans. Most of the animals found are only a few millimeters long and were discovered on the...
9/11 Defendants to Explain Why They Did It
Associated Press
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Nov 23, 2009 2:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
The five men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks will plead not guilty, but only so they have an opportunity to air their grievances against the US. The accused freely admit organizing the devastating terrorist attack, but wish to “explain what happened and why they did it," said a lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali. They...
Cop Smashes Glass —With Man's Head
CNN
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Nov 23, 2009 2:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
A California transit cop has been caught on video slamming a drunk's head through a plate glass window in an Oakland BART station. The video shows the officer forcibly removing Joseph Gibson, 37, from a train, where he was rowdy and profane, earning applause from passengers. But then he crosses the platform and pushes Gibson into a window, which shatters....
Call Girl Targeted After Tattling on Berlusconi
Guardian (UK)
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Nov 23, 2009 2:33 AM CST
(Newser) -
A call girl was attacked and threatened after she revealed she slept with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, she reveals in a new book. Soon after she tattled, a mystery car tried to ram Patrizia D'Addario as she drove near her home, she writes. "It was a miracle I survived," she adds. Thieves also busted into her home, she was nearly...
Boy Beaten on Facebook 'Kick a Ginger' Day
CNN
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Nov 23, 2009 2:07 AM CST
(Newser) -
Police suspect a boy was attacked at his southern California middle school because a Facebook site urged assaults on redheads. The boy, 12, was beaten twice on a day declared "Kick a Ginger Day" on the Facebook site, inspired by an episode of South Park . Police are continuing to investigate. The boy was not seriously injured.
First State Dinner to Reveal Obama A-Listers
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 23, 2009 1:42 AM CST
(Newser) -
Washington notables are still scrambling for an invitation to the White House state dinner Tuesday in honor of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh. The event, to be held in a heated tent on the South Lawn, will display who’s truly on Obama’s A-list, and the lobbying for a seat has likely been "relentless," says Dee Dee Myers,...
Israel, Hamas Near Deal for Soldier's Release
Jerusalem Post (Israel)
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Nov 23, 2009 1:18 AM CST
(Newser) -
Israeli and Hamas officials have confirmed that substantial progress has been made in negotiations for the release of an Israeli soldier captured during the 2006 Gaza war. Israel reportedly approved the release of at least 70 prisoners among the 450 Hamas is seeking for the return of the young staff-sergeant Gilad Shalit. "There is progress,"...
NYT to Blankfein: Your 'Apology' Is Bull
New York Times
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Nov 22, 2009 4:53 PM CST
(Newser) -
Lloyd Blankfein took his sweet time acknowledging his firm's role in almost toppling the financial system, and the New York Times editorial board stewed until today, when the paper's audience is largest. The Goldman Sachs CEO said in a speech this week, "We participated in things that were clearly wrong and we have reasons to regret"...
Windsors Schemed to Deny Elizabeth Throne
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 22, 2009 3:55 PM CST
(Newser) -
Within a decade of abdicating the throne, the former Edward VIII was plotting a return to power that involved an end run around his niece Elizabeth—better known today as Queen Elizabeth II. A letter the Duke of Windsor wrote in 1946, when his brother and successor King George VI was having serious health problems, mentions "a situation of...
Jon and Kate Finalize Details of Split
People
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Nov 22, 2009 3:27 PM CST
(Newser) -
On the eve of the Jon and Kate Plus 8 series finale—good timing!—the battling Gosselins have worked out the details of their divorce. Kate was awarded primary custody at a mediation hearing yesterday, and Jon didn't object, a source tells People . "Kate is just relieved that a very painful chapter of her life is nearly over,"...
Book Tour Shows Palin Hitting a Nerve
Anchorage Daily News
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Nov 22, 2009 2:46 PM CST
(Newser) -
Just 5 days into her book tour, first-time author Sarah Palin is attracting crowds so huge and adoring that they're feeding speculation about her political future. The philosophy that moved one fan to call her "the female Ronald Reagan" is nothing new, experts tell Erika Bolstad of the Anchorage Daily News , "but Palin seems to have...
MJ's Moonwalk Debut Glove Fetches $350K
Reuters
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Nov 22, 2009 2:20 PM CST
(Newser) -
The sequined glove Michael Jackson wore during the first public performance of his famed moonwalk sold at auction last night for $350,000, seven times the presale estimate of $50,000. Dubbed the "holy grail of Michael Jackson memorabilia" by the auction house, the glove sold to a Hong Kong businessman who will put it on display at a Macau...
New Moon Vamps to $141M Haul
USA Today
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Nov 22, 2009 1:54 PM CST
(Newser) -
In the third-largest weekend debut ever, The Twilight Saga: New Moon rang up $140.7 million, riding records for a midnight opening and a single day to totals trailing only The Dark Knight and Spider-Man. Audiences were four-fifths female, with the remaining 20% mostly teen boys, USA Today reports. The Blind Side outperformed expectations,...
